PhoenixEnergy, renewable energy productssupplier, attends the ceremony presenting Lebanon’s National Energy Efficiency Action Plan (NEEAP). Following the approval of Lebanon’s NEEAP by the Council of Ministers of Lebanon, the national ceremony discussed and distributed the official NEEAP 2011-2015 handbook.

Held under the patronage of the Minister of Energy and Water, Gebran Bassil, the event took place on 27 February 2012 at the Metropolitan Palace Hotel, in Sin El Fil, Beirut, Lebanon.

Interstate Container, in partnership with Mid South Packaging, offers customers and prospects a strong, user and environmentally-friendly corrugated bulk bin that is cost and time-efficient. ComboPAC™ bins are suited to pack processed turkey and all types of poultry, providing more strength than a strapped bin and offering a more economical packaging solution.

Established in 2011 in Columbia, South Carolina, Interstate Container Columbia also manufactures GREENCOAT® wax-replacement corrugated packaging for poultry, meat, seafood, and fresh produce, floral and other refrigerated and frozen products.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Pete Bugas, Interstate Container Cambridge General Manager, and Jeff Cormier, Interstate Container National Sales & Marketing Manager, speak about Interstate Container, its current products and people, and the future of GREENCOAT® wax-alternative boxes.

Q: What do you want customers/partners to know about Interstate Container Cambridge?

A: Pete Bugas It took over 5 years of intensive Research & Development to bring GREENCOAT® to the market. It was a collaborative effort that took place entirely at our Cambridge, MD facility. We believe that GREENCOAT® surpasses other wax-replacement boxes in the market in strength.

A: Jeff CormierInterstate Container Cambridge is the largest wax-alternative and wax box facility north of the Carolinas.Interstate Container does not simply sell the same stock boxes to every company within an industry. We treat each processing plant/customer as its own cost-center and look to custom-size their packaging to reduce cost. Understanding our customers operations is key and we service from many levels including sales, mechanical packaging representatives, and management to accomplish this. The more we know the harder we can work to save our customers money.

Q: What makes GREENCOAT® better?

A: Pete Bugas

GREENCOAT® is a very cost-efficient wax-alternative box with optimum performance for packing and transporting poultry, seafood, and fresh produce. Most importantly, GREENCOAT® is sustainable. Interstate Container takes a three-tiered approach to sustainability.

We ensure that the raw materials we use and our final products are environmentally-friendly, recyclable, and made with renewable resources. Our products and raw materials are certified and validated by third-party testing.

Furthermore, we are economically competitive and cost-neutral to wax boxes. We understand that no one wants to pay more, even for green products. Our plants in Cambridge and Columbia do not outsource the coating of paper to third parties. This means we account for 100% of GREENCOAT® boxes manufacturing process and this increases cost-efficiency and effectiveness.

Finally, we believe that we have a social responsibility to our surrounding community. This is both a local and corporate value…. “What is good for the community is good for the company”. And we live that every day.

A: Jeff Cormier

GREENCOAT® is a wax-replacement product that is just as strong as wax boxes, but it can be recycled. The price of GREENCOAT® is the same as any other wax box purchasable, and recycling actually allows you to make money.

While most companies pay for their conventional wax boxes to be disposed of, our customers get paid to recycle GREENCOAT®. GREENCOAT® creates a new revenue stream, while most boxes are just an expense. From a processing plant standpoint, it is easier to glue than wax, which decreases substantially box room waste and saves on glue costs.

Q: What is the future for GREENCOAT®?

A: Pete BugasMaking a name in the fresh produce sector and expanding knowledge into a wider customer base. Currently, the fresh fruit and vegetable industry consumes approximately 49% of the 1.5 million tons of wax boxes per year. These 1.5 million tons are non-recyclable waste, and typically end up in a landfill.

A: Jeff Cormier Growth… and lots of it. We just launched Interstate Container Columbia in South Carolina, which produces GREENCOAT® boxes. We are now the second largest poultry box supplier in the nation. I would like two to four more plants as we continue to grow. Furthermore, we will continue to innovate with GREENCOAT® to tackle extremely harsh and wet environments head on.

Q: Is there anything else you would like add?

A: Pete Bugas We invite companies to try our GREENCOAT® boxes and run side-by-side trials. Too often companies are offered a limited selection of products from existing suppliers, unaware that products like GREENCOAT® are available to them.

A: Jeff Cormier We have had no failed trials in poultry, out to California and everywhere in between. Interstate Container now runs over 3 million GREENCOAT® boxes per month. We are working with Global Green USA’sCoalition for Resource Recovery (CoRR) to get grocery store chains, hotel chains, and distributors to drive the effort towards green packaging and understand the benefits that come with GREENCOAT®.

Sanita, consumer disposables manufacturer, drew the final 20 winners of full kids bedrooms on 15 February 2012 at its premises in Halat, Lebanon. With every purchase of Happies baby diapers or wet wipes, ‘Happies Comfort Nights’ campaign offered customers an opportunity to enter the draw and win 1 of 70 five-piece kids’ bedrooms.

*All draws were held under the supervision of the Directorate of the Lebanese National Lottery no.: 1045/1.

Congratulations to ‘Happies Comfort Nights’ Final Winners

Winner Name

Coupon Nb

رقم القسيمة

اسم الرابح

Ahmad Beiani

45630

٤٥٦٣٠

أحمد بعيني

Ahmad Hanafi

108610

١٠٨٦١٠

أحمد حنفي

Ali Fawwaz

7673

٧٦٧٣

علي عبد المجيد ماضي

Ali Ahmad Kazem

74197

٧٤١٩٧

علي أحمد كاظم

Ali Al Dirani

38472

٣٨٤٧٢

علي الديراني

Antonio Bou Khalil

138031

١٣٨٠٣١

أنطونيو بو خليل

Charles Khalil

58751

٥٨٧٥١

شارل خليل

Dani Watfa

264067

٢٦٤٠٦٧

داني وطفا

Elie Souheil Massaad

117739

١١٧٧٣٩

إيلي سهيل مسعد

Farid Karam

135056

١٣٥٠٥٦

فريد كرم

Fatme al Zahraa

115262

١١٥٢٦

فاطمة الزهرا

Haydar Alaa el Dine

109142

١٠٩١٤٢

حيدر علاء الدين

Layan Kseir

811552

٨١١٥٥٢

ليان قصير

Nana Matta

174096

١٧٤٠٩٦

نانا متّى

Noujoud al Ali

143568

١٤٣٥٦٨

نجود العلي

Rayan Tarhani

55463

٥٤٦٣

ريان ترحاني

Roger Bahri

242502

٢٤٢٥٠٢

روجيه بحري

Rozine Houjeili

264718

٢٦٤٧١٨

روزين حجيلي

Toni Maalouf

184172

١٨٤١٧٢

طوني معلوف

Zeinab Awada

55443

٥٥٤٤٣

زينب عواضة

About Happies Baby Diapers

Happies is a leading brand of baby nappies and baby wet wipes in Lebanon. The brand includes regular baby diapers and baby aqua swim diapers in different sizes, as well as antibacterial embossed wet wipes with protective cream and embossed baby wet wipes with lotion.

Happies baby diapers and wet towels are produced bySanita in Halat, Lebanon. Sanita is a member of the multinational INDEVCO Group headquartered in Lebanon.

Monday, February 20, 2012

FRUIT LOGISTICA 2012 attendees met with Masterpak representatives and learned more about the polyethylene (PE) film manufacturer and its large range of agricultural, horticultural, and industrial PE films.

Masterpakmet with customers and new prospects from Europe and other countries, as well as kept up with new technologies and stayed in-tune with market and industry trends at FRUIT LOGISTICA 2012. Masterpak also learned about new and innovative products in the fresh fruit and vegetable sector.

The co-extruded PE film manufactureroccupied Booth B-10, Hall 8.2 at the world's leading trade fair for the fresh produce business that took place from 8 - 10 February 2012 atMesse Berlin in Berlin, Germany.